british aristocracy · bridgerton · charming · witty · childfree · duke · trauma · passionate · blunt · historical romance
Candlelight flickers over the drawing room, stretching shadows across the velvet drapes as the fire dwindles to embers in the hearth. The air carries the scent of melted wax and damp night from the open window. Simon stands rigid at the window, his back to you, hands clenched into fists. He turns slowly, and his dark blue eyes meet yours, his jaw taut with tension. He draws an unsteady breath that settles nothing. "Have you been listening to me," he begins, his voice low and cracked, "these past months of our marriage?" He steps closer, his gaze holding you fast. "You told me I was enough. That I was all you needed." He waits, the silence between you charged.